JST to EST Converter

Which JST and which EST?

Zone abbreviations are ambiguous, so this page starts by pinning both down. JST here is Japan Standard Time: the IANA zone Asia/Tokyo, anchored on Tokyo. EST here is Eastern Standard Time (North America): America/New_York, anchored on New York. Note that EST is also Australian Eastern Standard Time (usually written AEST); this page means only the New York sense.

Tokyo keeps UTC+9 all year — its January and July offsets are both UTC+9 — so JST has no summer-time sibling and never needs disambiguating by season.

EST in the everyday sense means New York time, whichever of EST or EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) is in force. New York is not on EST all year: its offset is UTC−5 while standard time applies (its January offset) and UTC−4 while daylight saving is active (its July offset). As of September 2026 it is on EDT (UTC−4). Wherever this page writes EST, read it as "New York time on the date in question".

The difference as of September 2026

As of September 2026, New York is 13 hours behind Tokyo. Tokyo is on UTC+9 (no seasonal change) and New York is on UTC−4 (EDT, daylight saving in effect). Subtract one offset from the other and you have the gap. As wall clocks: 9:00 AM in Tokyo is 8:00 PM the previous day in New York, 5:00 PM in Tokyo is 4:00 AM in New York, and 9:00 AM in New York is 10:00 PM in Tokyo.

The calendar date is part of the conversion on this pair. A 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM day in Tokyo reads 8:00 PM the previous day to 4:00 AM in New York, and a 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM day in New York reads 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM the next day in Tokyo, so a time on one side can belong to a different date on the other. The converter above flags each reading that lands on the previous or next day; the date you enter is the date on the From side's clock.

Next scheduled clock changes: no clock change is scheduled for Tokyo within the next 450 days; clocks in New York go back 1 hour on Sunday, November 1, 2026 (local date), moving the offset from UTC−4 to UTC−5. Only New York's changes matter to this pair, and each one moves the gap.

How the gap changes through the year

Only one side of this pair changes its clocks. Tokyo keeps UTC+9 all year — its January and July offsets are identical — while New York moves between UTC−5 (its January offset, EST) and UTC−4 (its July offset, EDT). Every time New York shifts, the whole difference shifts with it, because the other offset is standing still. So the gap takes two values a year: New York is 14 hours behind Tokyo while New York is on EST, and 13 hours behind Tokyo while it is on EDT.

Over the year scanned from Sep 7, 2026, the engine finds two such moves, each at the exact minute New York's clocks change:

• Sunday, November 1, 2026 (New York date): the gap goes from 13 hours behind to 14 hours behind.
• Sunday, March 14, 2027 (New York date): the gap goes from 14 hours behind to 13 hours behind.

The practical consequence is the one that catches recurring meetings. A call fixed at 9:00 AM on Tokyo's clock is 7:00 PM the previous day in New York while New York is on EST, and 8:00 PM the previous day while it is on EDT. Nobody in Tokyo sees the meeting move, but on New York's calendar it jumps by 1 hour on each of the dates above. The reverse is just as true: a 9:00 AM slot fixed on New York's clock lands at 11:00 PM or 10:00 PM in Tokyo depending on the season. Whichever side owns the invitation, the other side sees it move twice a year — which is exactly what the converter above accounts for when you give it a date.

Working hours that overlap

Assume a 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM day on both sides. Because the gap changes during the year, the overlap changes with it, so it is shown for each gap the pair takes:

• New York 14 hours behind Tokyo (JST / EST; 133 of the 365 days scanned): no overlap at all: when it is 9:00 AM in New York it is already 11:00 PM in Tokyo.
• New York 13 hours behind Tokyo (JST / EDT; 232 of the 365 days scanned): no overlap at all: when it is 9:00 AM in New York it is already 10:00 PM in Tokyo.

The 9-to-5 window is a convention, not a fact about anyone's real hours. The Meeting Planner lets you set each side's actual working hours and shows the overlap for the exact date you are planning.

Converting EST to JST

This page serves both directions, because the reverse conversion is the same gap with the sign flipped. As of September 2026, Tokyo is 13 hours ahead of New York, so:

• 9:00 AM JST (Tokyo) = 8:00 PM the previous day EST (New York)
• 9:00 AM EST (New York) = 10:00 PM JST (Tokyo)
• 5:00 PM EST (New York) = 6:00 AM the next day JST (Tokyo)

To run EST to JST in the converter above, swap the From and To menus; the result shows both offsets for the date you enter and flags a day change whenever the reading lands on the previous or next calendar day. The readings above hold only while the gap is 13 hours behind; on the dates listed in the section above they move, in both directions at once.

More on these zones

• Current time in Tokyo — live clock, offset and next clock change.
• Current time in New York — live clock, offset and next clock change.
• Time Zone Converter — any city to any city, DST-correct for the date.
• Meeting Planner — overlap for your real working hours.
• All zone-to-zone converters — the other corridors on this site.

JST to EST — frequently asked questions

Conversions are computed locally in your browser from its IANA time zone data; nothing you enter is transmitted. The schedule and offsets on this page were derived from the same database at build time, as of September 2026. Jurisdictions occasionally change DST law with short notice, and the IANA database follows reality — for legally critical timing, confirm against an official source. See the methodology page.